Caching system and method for a workspace environment

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of systems and methods for managing an Information Handling System (IHS) using a workspace orchestration system are described. In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, an IHS may include computer-executable instructions to, upon a request to instantiate a workspace on the IHS, receive a user identity of a user of the workspace. Using the user identity of the user, the instructions may further cause the IHS to obtain, from a database, one or more policies associated with the user, and instantiate the workspace using the obtained policies. The policies identify one or more applications to be implemented in the workspace, application settings to be applied to each of the applications, or workspace settings to be applied to the workspace.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This specification claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/206,235, which is titled “CACHING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A WORKSPACE ENVIRONMENT” and was filed on Mar. 19, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an Information Handling System (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user, or for a specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, global communications, etc. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.

IHSs provide users with capabilities for accessing, creating, and manipulating data. IHSs often implement a variety of security protocols in order to protect this data during such operations. A known technique for securing access to protected data that is accessed via an IHS is to segregate the protected data within an isolated software environment that operates on the IHS, where such isolated software environments may be referred to by various names, such as virtual machines, containers, dockers, etc. Various types of such segregated environments are isolated by providing varying degrees of abstraction from the underlying hardware and from the operating system of the IHS. These virtualized environments typically allow a user to access only data and applications that have been approved for use within that particular isolated environment. In enforcing the isolation of a virtualized environment, applications that operate within such isolated environments may have limited access to capabilities that are supported by the hardware and operating system of the IHS.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, an Information Handling System (IHS) includes executable computer-executable instructions for instantiating a first workspace comprising a cache database. The first workspace being instantiated with a first interface that is configured to communicate with a second interface in which the second interface is configured in a second workspace administered by the workspace orchestration system. The cache database is accessed by the second workspace using the first interface.

According to another embodiment, a method includes the steps of instantiating a first workspace that includes a cache database, wherein the first workspace is instantiated with a first interface that is configured to communicate with a second interface. The method further includes the steps of configuring the second interface in a second workspace administered by the workspace orchestration system such that the cache database is accessed by the second workspace using the first interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention(s) is/are illustrated by way of example and is/are not limited by the accompanying figures, in which like references indicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating certain components of an IHS operable, according to some embodiments, to support secure use of resources of the IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting illustrative embodiments of methods and system for deployment and management of workspaces on an IHS in a manner that supports secure use of resources of an IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a diagram depicting an illustrative system configured according to embodiments for deployment and management of workspaces on an IHS in a manner that supports secure use of resources of the IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart describing certain steps of a method, according to some embodiments, for secure use of resources of an IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS.

FIG. 5 is a swim lane diagram describing the operation of certain components of a system, according to some embodiments, in configuring secure use of resources of an IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS.

FIG. 6 is a workflow diagram describing certain steps of one embodiment of a cloud caching method using the cache database according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a workflow diagram describing certain steps of an example user context discovery method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For purposes of this disclosure, an IHS may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, calculate, determine, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, communicate, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an IHS may be a personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device (e.g., Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smart phone), server (e.g., blade server or rack server), a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. An example of an IHS is described in more detail below. FIG. 1 shows various internal components of an IHS configured to implement certain of the described embodiments. It should be appreciated that although certain embodiments described herein may be discussed in the context of a personal computing device, other embodiments may utilize various other types of IHSs.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting certain components of an illustrative IHS 100 that is operable according to various embodiments for secure use of resources of the IHS 100 by workspaces operating on the IHS 100. In some embodiments, IHS 100 may be employed to instantiate, manage, and/or terminate a secure workspace that may provide the user of IHS 100 with access to protected data in an isolated software environment in which the protected data is segregated from: the operating system (OS) of the IHS 100, other applications executed by IHS 100, other workspaces operating on IHS 100 and, to a certain extent, the hardware of the IHS. In some embodiments, the construction of a workspace for a particular purpose and for use in a particular context may be orchestrated remotely from the IHS 100 by a workspace orchestration service, such as described with regard to FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, portions of the workspace orchestration may be performed locally on IHS 100. IHS 100 may be configured with program instructions that, upon execution, cause IHS 100 to perform one or more of the various operations disclosed herein. In some embodiments, IHS 100 may be an element of a larger enterprise system that may include any number of similarly configured IHSs in network communications with each other.

As shown in FIG. 1 , IHS 100 includes one or more processors 101, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), that execute code retrieved from a system memory 105. Although IHS 100 is illustrated with a single processor 101, other embodiments may include two or more processors, that may each be configured identically, or that may be configured to support specialized processing functions. Processor 101 may include any processor capable of executing program instructions, such as an Intel Pentium™ series processor or any general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of a variety of Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs). In the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the processor 101 includes an integrated memory controller 118 that may be implemented directly within the circuitry of the processor 101, or the memory controller 118 may be a separate integrated circuit that is located on the same die as the processor 101. The memory controller 118 may be configured to manage the transfer of data to and from the system memory 105 of the IHS 100 via a high-speed memory interface 105 b.

System memory 105 that is coupled to processor(s) 101 via memory bus 105 b provides processor(s) 101 with a high-speed memory that may be used in the execution of computer program instructions by processor(s) 101. Accordingly, system memory 105 may include memory components, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), NAND Flash memory, suitable for supporting high-speed memory operations by processor(s) 101. In some embodiments, system memory 105 may combine both persistent, non-volatile memory and volatile memory. In certain embodiments, system memory 105 includes secure storage 120 that may be a portion of the system memory designated for storage of information, such as access policies, component signatures, encryption keys, and other cryptographic information, for use in hosting a secure workspace on IHS 100. In such embodiments, a signature may be calculated based on the contents of secure storage 120 and stored as a reference signature. The integrity of the data stored in secure storage 120 may then be validated at a later time by recalculating this signature of the contents of the secure storage and comparing the recalculated signature against the reference signature.

IHS 100 utilizes chipset 103 that may include one or more integrated circuits that are coupled to processor(s) 101. In the embodiment of FIG. 1 , processor(s) 101 is depicted as a set of buses that couple processor 101 to various hardware components installed in the same motherboard. In some embodiments, all or portions of chipset 103 may be implemented directly within the integrated circuitry of processor(s) 101. Chipset 103 thus provides processor(s) 101 with access to a variety of hardware resources. In IHS 100, chipset 103 is illustrated as a single coupling with processor 101. However, other implementations may utilize any number of connections to provide the illustrated communication pathways supported by chipset 103. In some instances, capabilities supported by processor 101 are not directly available to workspaces operating on IHS 100 due to the isolation of these workspaces from certain hardware and software of the IHS.

In certain embodiments, IHS 100 may include a SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) flash device 175 that stores certain data and instructions utilized by processor 101. The SPI flash 175 may be a non-volatile memory device capable of being electrically erased and reprogrammed. SPI flash 175 may be coupled to processor 101 over an SPI bus 180 that supports transfers of blocks of data to and from SPI flash 175. In some embodiments, SPI flash 175 may be divided into various regions, with each region storing different types of instructions and/or data. In certain embodiments, some of the regions of SPI flash 175 may be provisioned during trusted manufacture of IHS 100, such as with boot code, cryptographic keys, firmware reference signatures, and tokens that are used to implement security protocols utilized by IHS 100.

As illustrated, processor(s) 101 may also be coupled to a network controller 125, such as provided by a Network Interface Controller (NIC) that is coupled to the IHS 100 and allows the IHS 100 to communicate with other systems, such as other IHSs similarly configured to IHS 100, via an external network, such as the Internet or a LAN. Network interface device 109 may provide IHS 100 with wired and/or wireless network connections via a variety of network technologies, such as wireless cellular or mobile networks (CDMA, TDMA, LTE etc.), WIFI and BLUETOOTH. In some embodiments, network controller 125 may be instrumented with a controller or other logic unit that supports a sideband management connection 185 b with remote access controller 155. In some instances, capabilities supported by network controller 125 are not directly available to workspaces operating on IHS 100 due to the isolation of these workspaces from certain hardware and software of the IHS.

Chipset 103 may also support communications with one or more display device(s) 115 via graphics processor 170. In certain embodiments, graphics processor 170 may be comprised within one or more video or graphics cards or an embedded controller installed as components of the IHS 100. Graphics processor 170 may generate display information and provide the generated information to one or more display device(s) 115 coupled to IHS 100, where display device(s) 115 may include integrated display devices and/or external display devices coupled to IHS. In certain embodiments, some or all of the functions supported by graphics processor 170 may be integrated within processor 101. The one or more display devices 115 coupled to IHS 100 may utilize LCD, LED, OLED, or other thin film display technologies. Each display device 115 may be capable of touch input such as via a touch controller that may be a component of display device 115, graphics processor 170, or a separate component of IHS 100 accessed via bus 103. In some instances, capabilities supported by graphics processor 170 are not directly available to workspaces operating on IHS 100 due to the isolation of these workspaces from certain hardware and software of the IHS.

In certain embodiments, chipset 103 may utilize one or more I/O controllers 150 to access various I/O hardware components such as user input devices and sensors. For instance, I/O controllers 150 may provide access to user-input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen and/or other peripheral input devices. User input devices may interface with an I/O controller 150 through wired or wireless connections. Sensors accessed via I/O controllers 150 may provide access to data describing environmental and operating conditions of IHS 100 (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, hinge sensors, rotation sensors, hall effect sensors, temperature sensors, voltage sensors, current sensors, IR sensors, photosensors, proximity sensors, distance sensors, magnetic sensors, microphones, ultrasonic sensors, etc.). In some instances, sensor capabilities supported are not directly available to workspaces operating on IHS 100 due to the isolation of these workspaces from certain hardware and software of the IHS.

In some embodiments, the data inputs collected by such sensors may be received by sensor hub capable of utilizing this information in determining various physical characteristics of the location and manner in which IHS 100 is being utilized. For instance, the sensor hub may utilize inertial movement sensors, that may include accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer sensors, and are capable of determining the current orientation and movement of IHS 100 (e.g., IHS 100 is motionless on a relatively flat surface, IHS 100 is being moved irregularly and is likely in transport, the hinge of IHS 100 is oriented in a vertical direction). In certain embodiments, the sensor hub may also include capabilities for determining a location and movement of IHS 100 based on triangulation of network signal and based on network information provided by the OS or by a network interface. In some embodiments, the sensor hub may support additional sensors, such as optical, infrared and sonar sensors, that may provide support for xR (virtual, augmented, and/or mixed reality) sessions hosted by the IHS 100 and may be used by the sensor hub provide an indication of a user's presence near IHS 100, such as whether a user is present, absent, and/or facing the integrated display 115.

Chipset 103 also provides processor(s) 101 with access to one or more storage devices 130. In various embodiments, a storage device 130 may be integral to the IHS 100, or may be external to the IHS 100. In certain embodiments, storage device 130 may be accessed via a storage controller that may be an integrated component of the storage device. Storage device 130 may be implemented using any memory technology allowing IHS 100 to store and retrieve data. For instance, storage device 130 may be a magnetic hard disk storage drive or a solid-state storage drive. In some embodiments, storage device 130 may be a system of storage devices, such as a cloud drive accessible via network controller 125. In some embodiments, storage device 130 may be instrumented with a controller or other logic unit that supports a sideband management connection 185 d with remote access controller 155. In some instances, data storage capabilities supported by storage devices 130 are not directly available to workspaces operating on IHS 100 due to the isolation of these workspaces from certain hardware and software of the IHS.

IHS 100 may also include a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) 135 component that may include instructions stored in a non-volatile memory that may be accessible by processor 101. The BIOS 135 provides an abstraction layer that allows an operating system of the IHS 100 to interface with the hardware components of the IHS 100. Accordingly, BIOS 135 provides an abstraction layer to the firmware utilized by various hardware components of IHS 100. In some embodiments, BIOS 135 may be implemented using a dedicated microcontroller coupled to the motherboard of IHS 100. In some embodiments, some or all of BIOS 135 may be implemented as operations of an embedded controller, such remote access controller 155. Upon powering or restarting IHS 100, processor(s) 101 may utilize BIOS 135 to initialize and test various hardware components of the IHS 100. Upon successful validation of these hardware components, in some embodiments, BIOS 135 may also initiate loading of an operating system for use by the IHS 100. As illustrated, BIOS 135 may be instrumented with a controller or other logic unit that supports a sideband management connection 185 c with remote access controller 155. In certain embodiments, this sideband management connection 185 c may be utilized by remote access controller 155 to identify communication capabilities that are supported by IHS 100 and that may be used in support of secure communications by workspaces operating on IHS 100.

As illustrated, IHS 100 may also include a power supply unit 160 that provides the hardware components of IHS 100 with appropriate levels of DC power. Power inputs received via a power port or via USB ports may be routed to the power supply unit 160 of IHS 100. The power inputs received by power supply unit 160 may be used in powering the operations of IHS 100 and in recharging internal batteries of IHS 100. In some embodiments, power supply unit 160 may support power outputs drawn from the internal batteries of IHS 100 and provided to external devices coupled to IHS 100, such as USB devices coupled to USB ports of IHS 100. In some embodiments, power supply unit 160 may provide power to components of IHS 100 using multiple independent power planes. For instance, as described below, remote access controller 155 may be powered from a separate power plane from processor 101.

As illustrated, IHS 100 includes a remote access controller (RAC) 155 that provides capabilities for remote monitoring and management of various aspects of the operation of IHS 100. In support of these monitoring and management functions, remote access controller 155 may utilize both in-band and sideband (i.e., out-of-band) communications with various internal components of IHS 100. Remote access controller 155 may be installed on the motherboard of IHS 100 or may be coupled to IHS 100 via an expansion slot provided by the motherboard. As a non-limiting example of a remote access controller, the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) from Dell® is embedded within Dell PowerEdge™ servers and provides functionality that helps information technology (IT) administrators deploy, update, monitor, and maintain servers remotely.

In some embodiments, remote access controller 155 may operate from a different power plane from processors 101, storage devices 130, network controller 125 and various other components of IHS 100, thus allowing the remote access controller 155 to operate, and management tasks to proceed, while the processing cores of IHS 100 are powered off. In some embodiments, various BIOS functions, including launching the operating system of the IHS 100, may be implemented by the remote access controller 155. In some embodiments, the remote access controller 155 may perform various functions to verify the integrity of the IHS 100 and its hardware components prior to initialization of the IHS 100 (i.e., in a bare-metal state).

In some embodiments, remote access controller 155 may support monitoring and administration of various managed devices 101, 120, 125, 130, 135 of an IHS via a sideband bus interface. For instance, messages utilized in device management may be transmitted using I2C sideband bus connections 185 a-e that may be individually established with each of the respective managed devices 101, 120, 125, 130, 135 through the operation of an I2C multiplexer 155 a of the remote access controller. As illustrated, managed devices 125, 130, 135 of IHS 100 are coupled to the IHS processor(s) 101 via one or more in-band buses supported by chipset 103, where these in-band busses are separate from the I2C sideband bus connections 185 b-d used for device management. Accordingly, managed devices 125, 130 and 135 communicate with the operating system of IHS 100 via in-band buses supported by chipset 103, while the sideband buses 185 b-d are used by managed devices exclusively for communications with remote access controller 155.

In certain embodiments, a service processor 155 d of remote access controller 155 may rely on an I2C co-processor 155 c to implement sideband I2C communications between the remote access controller 155 and managed components 101, 120, 125, 130, 135 of the IHS. The I2C co-processor 155 c may be a specialized co-processor or micro-controller that is configured to interface via a sideband I2C bus interface with the managed hardware components 101, 120, 125, 130, 135 of IHS. In some embodiments, the I2C co-processor 155 c may be an integrated component of the service processor 155 d, such as a peripheral system-on-chip feature that may be provided by the service processor 155 d. Each I2C bus 185 a-e is illustrated as single line in FIG. 1 . However, each I2C bus 185 a-e may be comprised of a clock line and data line that couple the remote access controller 155 to I2C endpoints 101, 120, 125, 130, 135 on each of the managed components.

As illustrated, the I2C co-processor 155 c may interface with the individual managed devices 101, 120, 125, 130, 135 via individual sideband I2C buses 185 a-e selected through the operation of an I2C multiplexer 155 a. Via switching operations by the I2C multiplexer 155 a, a sideband bus connection 185 a-e may be established through a direct coupling between the I2C co-processor 155 c and each of the individual managed devices 101, 120, 125, 130, 135. In providing sideband management capabilities, the I2C co-processor 155 c may interoperate with corresponding endpoint I2C controllers that implement the I2C communications of the respective managed devices 101, 120, 125, 130, 135. The endpoint I2C controllers may be implemented as dedicated microcontrollers for communicating sideband I2C messages with the remote access controller 155, or endpoint I2C controllers may be integrated SoC functions of a processor of the respective managed device endpoints 101, 120, 125, 130, 135.

In some embodiments, remote access controller 155 may perform various operations in support of the delivery and deployment of workspaces to IHS 100. In certain embodiments, remote access controller 155 may interoperate with a remote orchestration service via the described out-of-band communications pathways that are isolated from the operating system that runs on IHS 100. In some embodiments, a network adapter 155 b that is distinct from network controller 125 utilized by the operating system of IHS 100 may support such out-of-band communications between remote access controller 155 and a remote orchestration service. Via this out-of-band signaling pathway, remote access controller 155 may receive authorization information that may be used for secure delivery and deployment of a workspace to IHS 100 and to support secure communication channels between deployed workspaces and various capabilities supported by IHS 100, while still maintaining isolation of the workspaces from the hardware and operating system of IHs 100.

In some embodiments, authorization and cryptographic information received by remote access controller 155 from a remote orchestration service may be stored to secured memory 120. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , in some embodiments, remote access controller 155 may access secured memory 120 may, via an I2C sideband signaling pathway 185 a between I2C multiplexer 155 a and an I2C communication capability supported by secure memory 120. Remote access controller 155 may support execution of a trusted operating environment that supports secure operations that are used to deploy a workspace on IHS 100. In certain embodiments, remote access controller 155 may calculate signatures that uniquely identify various hardware and software components of IHS 100. For instance, remote access controller 155 may calculate hash values based on instructions and other information used to configure and operate hardware and/or software components of IHS 100. For instance, remote access controller 155 may calculate a hash value based on firmware and on other instructions or settings of a component of a hardware component. In some embodiments, hash values may be calculated in this manner as part of a trusted manufacturing process of IHS 100 and may be stored in the secure storage 120 as reference signatures used to validate the integrity of these components at a later time. In certain embodiments, a remote orchestration service supporting the deployment of workspaces to IHS 100 may verify the integrity of the remote access controller 155 in a similar manner, by calculating a signature of remote access controller 155 and comparing it to a reference signature calculated during a trusted process for manufacture of IHS 100.

In some embodiments, an IHS 100 may not include all of the components shown in FIG. 1 . In other embodiments, an IHS 100 may include other components in addition to those that are shown in FIG. 1 . Furthermore, some components that are represented as separate components in FIG. 1 may instead be integrated with other components. For example, in certain embodiments, all or a portion of the operations executed by the illustrated components may instead be provided by components integrated into processor(s) 101 as systems-on-a-chip.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting illustrative embodiments of methods and system for deployment and management of workspaces on an IHS in a manner that supports secure use of resources of an IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS. For sake of explanation, the workspace lifecycle supported by embodiments has been split into three phases: workspace initialization phase 200A, workspace orchestration phase 200B, and workspace termination phase 200C. During initialization 200A, user 201 operates an IHS 100, such as described with regard to FIG. 1 , within a physical environment 202 (e.g., any type of environment and its associated context, including physical location, geographic location, location within a particular facility or building, detected networks, time of day, proximity of the user, individuals in the vicinity of IHS 100, etc.).

The illustrated method for the workspace lifecycle according to embodiments may be initiated with an action by user 201 at a user interface that serves as a launch point 203 for initiating a workspace. In various instances, launch point 203 may be a corporate launch point provided by an employer of user 201, a manufacturer launch point provided by the manufacturer of IHS 100, or a third-party launch point provided as a service to user 201 by a third-party. In various instances, user 201 may operate IHS 100 to access a launch point 203 that is provided in the form of a web portal, a portal application running in the operating system of IHS 100, or a special-purpose portal workspace operating on IHS 100. In various embodiments, launch point 203 may be implemented using graphical, textual and/or audio interfaces by which data or other resource may be requested by a user 201. In various implementations, launch point 203 may include Graphical User Interface (GUI) elements, such as icons, that represent different software applications, data sources and/or other resources that the user may select for use via a workspace. As such, launch point 203 may provide a user with an ability to request initiation of a workspace that process access to software applications and data sources that are available to the user 201.

As described in additional detail below, workspaces for providing user 201 with access to protected data or other resources may operate using a local management agent 332 that operates on IHS 100 and is configured to interoperate with workspace orchestration service 206. As described, launch point 203 may be provided in the form of a portal (e.g., a webpage, OS application or special purpose workspace) that includes a user interface that allows user 201 to request access to managed resources. In some embodiments, launch point 203 may be hosted by the local management agent 332 that runs on IHS 100 and interoperates with remote workspace orchestration service 206. Examples of launch point 203 technologies may include WORKSPACE ONE INTELLIGENT HUB from WMWARE, INC., and DELL HYBRID CLIENT from DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC., among others.

Initialization phase 200A begins when user 201 chooses to launch an application or access a data source that is managed by the workspace orchestration service 206. In response to an access request issued by user 201 (e.g., the user “clicks” on an icon presented by launch point 203), at 204, local management agent 332 of IHS 100 collects initial security context information and productivity context information. In various embodiments, the security context information of a workspace may include attributes indicating a security risk associated with the data and/or application being requested, a level of risk presented by the user 201, the hardware of the IHS 100, the logical software environment of IHS 100 in which a workspace will be deployed, and the physical environment 202 in which IHS 100 is currently located. Accordingly, in this disclosure, a “security context” generally refers to data or other information related to a security posture in which a workspace will be deployed and utilized, where the security posture may be based on characteristics of user 201, IHS 100, the data and/or application to be accessed via the workspace, and/or environment 202. In some embodiments, a security context may be quantified as a security risk score in support of evaluations of the level or risk associated with providing user 201 access to requested data and/or application while using IHS 100 in the particular context.

In various embodiments, security metrics that may be used in the calculation of a security risk score for a particular security context may include, but are not limited to: a classification of the requested data source and/or application, authentication factors used to identify user 201, the location of IHS 100, a role or other group classifications associated with user 201, validation of networks in use by IHS 100, type of network in use by IHS 100, network firewall configurations in use by IHS 100, indicators of attack (IoA), indicators of compromise (IoC) regarding IHS 100 or a resource being requested by user 201, patch levels associated with the operating system and other applications in use on IHS 100, availability of encryption, type of available encryption, access to secured storage, use of attestable hardware by IHS 100, and supported degree of workspace isolation by IHS 100.

In this disclosure, “productivity context” generally refers to user 201 productivity associated with a workspace, user 201, IHS 100, and/or environment 202. A “productivity score” generally refers to an index usable to score, quantify, or measure various productivity characteristics of a productivity context. Examples of productivity context information may include, but are not limited to: the hardware of the IHS 100 that is available for use in support of a workspace, the software of the IHS 100 that is available for use in support of the workspace, power states of IHS 100 and/or hardware components of IHS 100, maximum clock frequencies of hardware components of IHS 100 that can currently be supported, maximum operating speeds of software components of IHS 100, peripheral devices coupled to IHS 100 and networks available for use by IHS 100 in supporting the workspace.

Initial productivity and security targets for a workspace may be calculated, at 205, based on the context of user's 201 actions combined with the productivity and security context in which the workspace will operate. In some cases, at 205, a local management agent 332 operating on IHS 100 may calculate initial security and productivity targets based upon the collected security and productivity context. In other cases, remote workspace orchestration service 206 may calculate security and productivity targets for a workspace. In this disclosure, “security target” generally refers to the attack surface presented by a workspace that is created and operated based on a specific workspace definition, while “productivity target” generally refers to the productivity characteristics of a specific workspace definition. Examples of a productivity target characteristics include, but are not limited to types of data or data sources available to user 201 within a workspace, latency of the workspace, software applications available within the workspace, responsiveness of the workspace and remaining computational overhead available to the workspace. Attributes that may be used to characterize a security target may include, but are not limited to: a minimum security score for a workspace, a minimum trust score of IHS 100, authentication requirements for user 201 (e.g., how many authentication factors are required, frequency of re-authentication), minimum level of trust in the network utilized by a workspace, required isolation of a workspace from IHS 100, the ability to access browser within a workspace, the ability to transfer data between workspaces and the ability to extend a workspace. In some instances, productivity and security targets may also be based on user's 201 behavioral analytics, IHS 100 telemetry and/or environmental information that is collected via sensors of IHS 100.

In this disclosure, “workspace definition” generally refers to a collection of attributes that describe aspects a workspace that is assembled, initialized, deployed and operated in a manner that satisfies a security target (e.g., the definition presents an attack surface that presents an acceptable level of risk) and a productivity target (e.g., the definition provides a requisite level of access to data and applications with an upper limit on latency of the workspace) in light of the security context (e.g., location, patch level, threat information, network connectivity, etc.) and the productivity context (e.g., performance characteristics of the IHS 100, network speed, workspace responsiveness and latency) in which the workspace is to be deployed. A workspace definition may enable fluidity of migration of an instantiated workspace, since the definition supports the ability for a workspace to be assembled on any IHS 100 that is configured for operation with the workspace orchestration service 206.

In specifying capabilities and constraints of a workspace, a workspace definition 208 may prescribe one or more of: authentication requirements for user 201, types of containment and/or isolation of the workspace (e.g., local application, sandbox, docker container, progressive web application (PWA), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)), applications that can be executed in the defined containment of the workspace with access to one or more data sources, security components that reduce the scope of the security target presented by the productivity environment (e.g., DELL DATA GUARDIAN from DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC., anti-virus software), the data sources to be accessed and requirements for routing that data to and from the workspace containment (e.g., use of VPN, minimum encryption strength), and workspace capabilities available to independently attach other resources.

In some implementations, workspace definitions may be based at least in part on static policies or rules defined, for example, by an enterprise's Information Technology (IT) personnel. In some implementations, static rules may be combined and improved upon by machine learning (ML) and/or artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that evaluate historical productivity and security data collected as workspaces are life cycled. In this manner, rules may be dynamically modified over time to generate improved workspace definitions. If it is determined, for instance, that a user dynamically adds a text editor every time he uses MICROSOFT VISUAL STUDIO from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, then workspace orchestration service 206 may autonomously add that application to the default workspace definition for that user.

Still with respect to FIG. 2 , during an orchestration phase 200B of workspace deployment, at 208, the initial security and productivity targets are processed and/or reconciled against resources, IHS capabilities, and cloud services capabilities in order to produce a workspace definition. As described, a workspace definition may specify capabilities and constraints of a workspace, such as: runtime security requirements of the workspace containment (e.g., such as isolation from the OS of IHS 100 or from certain hardware of IHS 100), the use of reference measurements to attest to the integrity of the workspace, applications to be provided for operation within the workspace, aggregation of resources available via the workspace, configurations for accessing data or resources (e.g., required use of a virtual private network (VPN)).

As described in additional detail with regard to FIG. 3 , the initial workspace definition may then be utilized by an automation engine 302 of workspace orchestration service 206 to coordinate the assembly 209 and instantiation 210 of a workspace on an appropriate platform (e.g., on the cloud, on IHS 201, or some combination of the two) based on the security and productivity contexts in which the workspace will operate. In some embodiments, automation engine 302 may resolve configuration conflicts between a workspace definition and the user's inputs in the operation of a workspace. In cases where a workspace is cloud-hosted, the automation engine 302 may assemble and instantiate a remote workspace that may be accessed via a secure connection established via a web browser or other web-based component operating on the IHS 100.

At 211 of FIG. 2 , the instantiated workspace is operated by user 201 and new productivity and security context information related to the behavior or use of data is generated at 212. This operation of a workspace may result in a change or new classification of data based upon what user 201 has done, accessed, and/or created, thus resulting in a change to the security context of the workspace. To the extent the user's behavioral analytics, device telemetry, and/or the environment has changed to a quantifiable degree, these changes in security context may serve as additional input for a reevaluation, at 207, of the security and performance targets by automation engine 302. Additionally or alternatively, a new workspace context, security target, and/or productivity target may be now measured against the initial targets, and the result may cause automation engine 302 to produce a new workspace definition at 208.

Particularly, if the instantiated workspace(s) have security or productivity parameters that fall outside of a range of the target scores for these parameters such that a difference between an updated context information and the previous context information is scored below a threshold value, automation engine 302 may generate modifications to an existing workspace and, at 210, may deploy an updated workspace according to the modified definition. Conversely, if the difference between an updated context information and the previous context information is scored above a threshold value, automation engine 302 may generate a new workspace at 210. Session data metadata and context may be preserved by data aggregation engine 336, and session data may be restored in the new workspace as applicable.

Various conditions may trigger termination of a workspace at 213, as part of termination phase 200C. In some cases, user action may initiate the termination of a workspace (e.g., user 201 closes application or browser accessing data). In other cases, termination of a workspace may take place automatically as part of an adjustment in workspace definition (e.g., the workspace is terminated by automation engine 302 in order to support a new or updated workspace). As part of a termination phase 200C of a workspace, various workspace resources of IHS 100 and/or at workspace orchestration service 206 may be released.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams depicting illustrative embodiments of a system for deployment and management of workspaces on an IHS 300B in a manner that supports secure use of resources of the IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS. The illustrated system includes a workspace orchestration service 206 that performs various workspace orchestration operations described above, such as: the evaluation of security and productivity targets based upon context information, the calculation of risk scores and other productivity and security metrics based on ongoing collection of context information, the generation of workspace definitions, and the assembly and instantiation of workspaces in accordance with a workspace definition, where the workspaces may be instantiated via a cloud service or an IHS 100, such as described with regard to FIG. 1 and further described with regard to FIG. 3B. As described, IHS 100 may supported deployment and operation of workspaces through the collection of productivity and security context information, the calculation of productivity scores and/or risk scores, the instantiation, execution, and modification of a workspace based upon workspace definitions that are received from workspace orchestration service 206.

Workspace orchestration service 206 and IHS 100 may be coupled to each other via any suitable network technology and/or protocol which allows workspace orchestration service 206 to interoperate with IHS 100. As described with regard to FIG. 1 , an IHS 100 according to embodiments may include a component such as a remote access controller 155 that may support secure out-of-band communications that are independent from the operating system of IHS 100. In some embodiments, such a remote access controller may be configured to utilize such out-of-band communication capabilities to support deployment and operation of workspaces on IHS 100 and to report changes in context information to the workspace orchestration service 206.

As illustrated in FIG. 3A, workspace orchestration service 206 may include a number of sub-components that support deployment and ongoing evaluation and adaptation of workspaces on an IHS 100. Embodiments of the workspace orchestration service 206 may include systems that may support web services 306, manufacturer integration 317, and analytics 323. As illustrated, web services 306 may, in turn, comprise application services 301 and user interface (UI) and automation services 302. In some embodiments, analytics services 323 may be configured to receive and process context information from IHS 100, both during initial configuration of a workspace and in ongoing support of workspaces, and to provide that information, along with any analytics generated, to context logic 303 of application services 301. Based on information collected during the deployment and ongoing support of workspaces, support assistance intelligence engine (SAIE) 324 may be configured to generate and/or analyze technical support information (e.g., updates, errors, support logs, etc.) for use in diagnosing and repairing workspace issues. Workspace insights and telemetry engine 325 may be configured to analyze and/or produce device-centric, historical, and behavior-based data (e.g., hardware measurements, performance measurements, use of features, settings, etc.) resulting from the operation of workspaces. Workspace intelligence 326 may include an intelligence engine for processing and evaluating context data in order to identify patterns and tendencies in the operation of workspaces and in the adaptation of workspaces based on context changes.

As illustrated, an application services 306 system of the workspace orchestration service 206 may include a UI and automation services 302 system that may include context logic engine 303, classification policy logic 304, and condition control engine 305. Context logic engine 303 may support processing of context information in making risk assessments (e.g., evaluating the risk associated with requests by the user against the context of the user's behavior, history of the use of IHS 100, capabilities of IHS 100, and environmental conditions). For instance, security context information collected by IHS 100 may be provided to workspace orchestration service 206 where it may be used by context logic 303 to calculate a risk score associated with a request for use of a managed data source and/or application. Classification policy 304 may include administrator and machine-learning defined policies describing risk classifications associated with different security contexts, such as risk classifications associated with specific data, locations, physical environments, IHSs, logical environments, and user actions (e.g., use of high-risk data requires use of a workspace definition suitable for use with a risk score above a specific value). Condition control engine 305 may include intelligence providing automated decision making for alignment of risk and context. In some cases, condition control engine 305 may dynamically deploy a solution to address any detected misalignment of risk and context. For instance, upon requesting access to a highly classified data source that results in a significant increase in risk score, the condition control engine may select workspace definition modifications that implement security procedures that are suitable for the higher risk score.

Application services 301 may include a group of web services 306 called on by UI and automation services 302 to support various aspects of the orchestration of workspaces. Particularly, web services 306 may include application and workspace services 307 that may assemble and package applications for deployment in a workspace (e.g., an “.msix” file packaged and deployed to a MICROSOFT HYPER-V container). In some embodiments, a workspace definition may be used to specify various such types of workspace deployments that will be used to provide a user with access to an application. Web services 306 may also include a tenant subscription module 308, that performs dynamic configuration of an IHS 100 for use with the described workspace orchestration services 206 at the point-of-sale (POS) of the IHS. A license tracking module 309 may be used to maintain and track license information for software, services, and IHSs. An access control module 310 may provide top level access controls used in controlling access to data and applications by authorized users. A Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) module 311 may be configured to support the described orchestration of workspaces on various different IHSs that may be utilized by a particular user.

Web services 306 that may be used in support of workspaces deployed on IHS 100 may further include resource provisioning services 312 for configuring IHS 100 or a workspace with secrets/credentials necessary to access specific resources (e.g., credentials for use of VPNs, networks, data storage repositories, workspace encryption, workspace attestation, and workspace-to-device anchoring). In some cases, resource provisioning services 312 may include secrets provisioned to IHS 100, such as to secure memory 120, as part of a trusted assembly process of IHS 100 and, in some instances, associated with a unique identifier 348 of the IHS 100. Web services 306 may also include an authorization/token module 313 that provides identity functions and may connect to various authentication sources, such as Active Directory. Endpoint registration module 314 may be configured to register IHSs and/or workspaces in order to track the use of the described workspace orchestration. In some scenarios, a directory services 315 module may be configured to provide active directory services (e.g., AZURE ACTIVE DIRECTORY from MICROSOFT CORPORATION). Device configuration services 316 may enable central configuration, monitoring, managing, and optimization of workspaces that in certain contexts may operate remotely from an IHS and may only present the user of the IHS with a user interface that presents an image of the workspace output. In cooperation with resource provisioning services 312, device configuration services 316 may also handle creation of secrets and IHS configuration.

Still referring to FIG. 3A, manufacturer integration components 317 communicate with application services 301 and client IHS 100 to provide features that are usable during workspace evaluation and instantiation, where these features may be based upon information available to the manufacturer of IHS 100. For instance, certificate authority 318 may include an entity that issues digital certificates that may be used in validating the authenticity and integrity of the hardware of IHS 100. Identity service module or engine 319 may be configured to manage the user identities, as well as brokering user identification for use of customer directory 322. Order entitlement engine 320 may be used to manage purchased entitlements as well as the associated issued certificates signed by 318. Ownership repository 321 may manage user entitlements associated with IHSs and their ownership and may provide support for users transferring ownership of an IHS and conveying the entitlements associated with that IHS. In certain scenarios, ownership repository 321 may use this transfer of ownership to decommission the secrets associated with the entitlements embedded in the IHS. Customer directory 322 may be configured to authenticate and authorize all users and IHSs in a network, such as assigning and enforcing security policies for all IHSs and installing or updating software (in some cases, customer directory 322 may work in cooperation and/or may be the same as directory services 315).

Referring now to IHS 100 of FIG. 3B, in some embodiments, IHS 100 may be configured to operate a local management agent 332 that may operate as a trusted and attestable process of IHS 100 and that may operate independent from the operating system 360 of IHS 100. In some embodiments, local management agent 332 may include a workspace engine that instantiates and manages the operation of one or more workspaces 331A-N on IHS 100. As described, the capabilities of a workspace 331A-N may be modified based on detected changes in the productivity and security contexts in which the workspace is operating. Accordingly, the workload(s) in each of the workspaces 331A-N may be hosted in full or in part by a cloud resource, a specific server, or locally hosted on IHS 100, depending on the context in which the workspace is operating. These allocations of workspace computing for each particular workspace 331A-N may be prescribed by the workspace definition that is used to build and operate each workspace. As described, the workspace definition may be created by workspace orchestration service 206 based upon: context information provided by IHS 100, security targets for each workspace 331A-N, and/or productivity targets for each workspace 331A-N. As described in additional detail below, an individual workspace 331A-N may be provided with use of local resources of IHS 100 via a secure communication mechanism supported by workspace orchestration service 206 and remote access controller 341 of IHS 100. Utilizing the provided embodiments, such use of local resources by workspaces 331A-N may be adapted in response to detected changes in the security context of IHS 100.

In some embodiments, local management agent 332 may be configured to host, launch, and/or execute a workspace hub 327 that provides a launch point 203 by which users may initiate workspaces 331A-N through the selection of managed data and/or resources. As described, launch point 203 may be an agent, application, special-purpose workspace or web portal the provides a user interface by which a user may select from a collection of data sources, applications or other managed information or resources that are available to the user of IHS 100 via the operation of a workspace as described herein. In various embodiments, launch point 203 may be provided in the form for textual, graphical and/or audio user interfaces that allow a user of IHS 100 to select available data and/or resources. Workspace hub 327 may utilize a local environment management module in providing the workspace interface that is presented to the user on IHS 100 in a consistent manner across workspaces 331A-N.

In some embodiments, each instantiated workspace 331A-N may be a logical software environment that provides a user with access to requested data or applications, where the environment may be isolated in varying degrees from the hardware and software of IHS 100 based on the security context and productivity context in which each workspace 331A-N is operating. In some instances, the selection of a data source or resource that is available to user via launch point 203 may result in launching a new workspace 331A-N. For instance, if a user launches a browser through selection of an icon displayed by launch point 203, a new workspace may be created and launched according to a workspace definition that has been selected for providing the user access to a web browser in the security and productivity contexts in which the request has been made. In a scenario where the user selects a confidential presentation file available from a data source that is provided by launch point 203, an additional workspace 331A-N may be instantiated with use of a presentation application and with access to the requested presentation file, where this new workspace is created based on a workspace definition that provides appropriate security for access to the confidential presentation. In other instances, a selection of the presentation file by a user may result in the presentation being made available through the existing workspace, in some cases using the existing workspace definition and, in other cases, using a workspace definition that has been modified to support the requested access to the confidential presentation file.

In various embodiments, in order to execute the various operations described herein, local management agent 332 may include a command monitor that provides instrumentation to receive commands from workspace orchestration service 206 in support of adaptation of workspaces 331A-N based on detected changes in context. Local management agent 332 may include a telemetry module that may collect and communicate information to the workspace orchestration service 206, including reporting changes in context that may warrant adjustments to workspaces 331A-N. Local management agent 332 may also utilize a resource manager module that is configured to manage access to data, network configuration, such as for VPNs and network access, identity information, access control, and resource provisioning services. A security module of local management agent 332 may be configured to provide various security services. IHS 100 may include an IHS identification module 348 that provides a unique, unspoofable identifier that is cryptographically bound to IHS 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 3B, IHS 100 includes a remote access controller 341 that provides capabilities for remote management of IHS 100 and that provides out-of-band management of various hardware components of IHS 100. As indicated in FIG. 3B, the remote access controller 341 operates independently from the operating system 360 in providing remote management of IHS 100. A selected portion of the capabilities of a remote access controller 341 are illustrated in FIG. 3B. As described with regard to FIG. 1 , a remote access controller 341 may include a root of trust 342 capability that is used to evaluate firmware instructions to be used by various hardware components of IHS 100 against reference signatures for these components, thus validating the firmware in use by these components. In some embodiments, workspace operations supported by workspace orchestration service 206 may require such root of trust validations by remote access controller 341 prior to initiating deployment of workspaces to IHS 100. In some embodiments, remote access controller 341 may include a secure object store 344 for use in storing reference signatures used by root of trust 342 module. As described with regard to FIG. 1 , reference signatures utilized by root of trust 342 module may alternatively or additionally be stored in a secure memory of IHS 100. In some embodiments, an IHS attestation 343 module of remote access controller 341 may interface with workspace orchestration service 205 in providing confirmations of root of trust validations of the hardware components of IHS 100.

In some embodiments, remote access controller 341 may also include a secure communications support module 350 that may be used to facilitate secure communications with workspaces 331A-N in providing these workspaces with access to local resources of IHS 100 that have been registered for use in this manner with workspace orchestration service 206. As described in additional detail below, configuration of a local resource for use by a workspace 331A-N may include workspace orchestration service 206 providing remote access controller 341 with a handle for use in interfacing with an individual workspace 331A-N in providing the workspace with a selected local resource of IHS 100. As described, an IHS may concurrently support multiple different workspaces 331A-N, each operating according to a separate workspace definition. Each workspace 331A-N may utilize multiple local resources of IHS 100. Each instance of a workspace utilizing a local resource of IHS 100 may be supported by a separate handle that supports secure communications between a workspace and the remote access controller 341. In turn, each handle may include a token and may specify various conditions for the validity of the token, such as a time limit on the validity of a token. The secure communications support module 350 of the remote access controller 341 may manage the various handles in use at any one time in providing workspaces 331A-N with access to local resources of the IHS. In some embodiments, secure communications support module 350 may be configured to evaluate the conditions provided in each handle for the validity of the handle's token in order to determine whether to continue providing a workspace with access to the local resource specified by the handle.

As illustrated, each workspace 331A-N may include a local resource service 335A-N that configures use of available resources of the IHS by a respective workspace. As described in additional detail below, a local resource service 355A-N may interoperate with workspace orchestration service 206 in order to configure a respective workspace 331A-N for use of resources of the IHS 100 that have been registered with the workspace orchestration service 206 as being available for use by workspaces 331A-N. In some instances, such resource of IHS 100 that are available for use by workspaces 331A-N may be identified for workspace orchestration service 206 by remote access controller 341 via out-of-band signaling pathways that are independent from operating system 360 of IHS 100, such as described with regard to FIG. 1 . Once a local resource service 355A-N has negotiated use of available IHS resources, workspace orchestration service 206 may provide a respective local resource service 355A-N with a handle that supports a secure means for accessing a local resource of IHS 100, as supported by a remote access controller 341 of the IHS 100.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart describing certain steps of a method, according to some embodiments, for secure use of resources of an IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS. FIG. 5 is a swim lane diagram describing the operation of certain components of a system according to some embodiments, in configuring secure use of resources of an IHS by workspaces operating on the IHS. As illustrated in FIG. 5 , embodiments may begin with the initialization of an IHS that is configured according to the embodiments described above. As described, in some embodiments, initialization procedures of an IHS may include validation of instructions utilized by various hardware components of the IHS. For instance, firmware instructions to be loaded by a remote access controller 410 of the IHS may be used to generate a hash value that is compared to a digital signature stored in a secure memory of the IHS, where the digital signature corresponds to authentic firmware instructions stored for use by the remote access controller during a trusted manufacturing process of the IHS, or during another trusted administrative process. In this same manner, the firmware instructions utilized by various hardware components of the IHS may be successively validated against stored reference signatures in order to iteratively expand a root of trusted hardware components of the IHS. In some embodiments, the firmware instructions of the remote access controller 410 that are validated in this manner may include instructions used by the remote access controller to determine resources of the IHS that may be utilized by workspaces operating on the IHS and to transmit such local resource information to a remote workspace orchestration service 420.

As indicated at 425 in FIG. 4 and at 510 of FIG. 5 , once the instructions utilized by the remote access controller 410 have been validated, the remote access controller may utilize these instructions to communicate with a remote workspace orchestration service 420 in registering for secure use of IHS resources by workspaces operating on the IHS. In some embodiments, the validated firmware instructions utilized by the remote access controller 410 may include instructions for securely determining resources of the IHS that may be used by workspaces operating on the IHS and for transmitting a registration of these available IHS resources to the workspace orchestration service 420. In such instances, the remote access controller 410 thus utilizes validated instructions for configuring operation with workspaces and in communicating with the workspace orchestration service 420, where these instructions are provided during a trusted process for manufacture of an IHS, or during a trusted administrative process.

At 515 of FIG. 5 , the remote access controller 410 provides the workspace orchestration service 420 with a listing of IHS resources that are available for use by workspaces 405 operating on the IHS. As described, such list of available resources may include capabilities supported by hardware or software components of the IHS, but are not accessible to workspaces 405 due to their isolation from the underlying hardware and software of the IHS. For instance, available resources may include ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) capabilities for querying and configuring power management settings of an IHS. In some instances, available resources may include WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) capabilities for management of IHSs that operate using a Windows operating system. In some instances, available resources may include use of thread management, memory management or network controller functions that are not accessible by workspaces 405 due to virtualization of the hardware of the IHS. In some embodiments, available resources may support functions that consolidate services in use by different workspaces 405 operating on the IHS, such as consolidation of authentication capabilities in use by the workspaces or consolidation of VPN capabilities. Through the use of such consolidated functions, workspaces 405 may avoid duplicative operations and may also avoid possible inconsistencies that may result from each workspace 405 utilizing a resource of the IHS in isolation from each other.

As indicated at 520 of FIG. 5 and at 430 of FIG. 4 , in response to receiving a list of available IHS resources, the workspace orchestration service 420 transmits an authorization token to the remote access controller 410. This authorization token may be used to establish secure communications between a workspace and the remote access controller 410 in providing the workspace with access to the available resources of the IHS. In some embodiments, the authorization token provided to the remote access controller 410 may be calculated based on a unique identifier of the IHS, such as an identifier provided by an IHS identification 348 function of IHS, where this unique identifier may be a service tag or other unique code assigned to IHS upon its manufacture. By generating the authorization token based on a unique identifier of IHS, the token is thus bound to that particular IHS such that any attempts to utilize the token by other IHSs are detectable.

In some instances, the identification of available resources by the remote access controller 410 and the receipt of an authorization token from the workspace orchestration service 420 is completed upon initialization of the remote access controller 410 and prior to the user commencing actual use of the IHS. Once the IHS has been initialized and is in use, at 525, a workspace may be initialized or reinitialized. In some instances, a workspace may be initialized in response to a user requesting access to a protected resource via a launch point operating on the IHS, such as described with regard to FIG. 2 . As described with regard to FIGS. 3A and 3B, an IHS supporting the use of workspaces may operate using a workspace management agent, represented as 415 in FIG. 4 , that is used to deploy and manage workspaces operating on the IHS.

In response to a user initiating a request for use of a protected resource through operation of a workspace, at 435, the workspace management agent 415 transmits a request for a workspace for use of the protected resource to the workspace orchestration service 420. At 440, the workspace orchestration service 420 generates a workspace definition for generating and operating a workspace that provides the user with access to the protected resource. As described above, a workspace definition may be selected based on factors such as the security context and productivity context of the IHS that will host the workspace, the user making the request and/or the logical and physical environment in which the workspace will operate. Various types of context information may be provided to the workspace orchestration service 420 as part of the request from the workspace management agent 415. Additional context information may be collected by the workspace orchestration service 420 from the remote access controller 410. Based on evaluation of the context information, at 445, the workspace orchestration service 420 transmits the workspace definition and other data for generating a workspace to the workspace management agent 415.

Using the received workspace definition, at 448, the workspace management agent 415 instantiates and deploys the workspace 405 that will provide the user with access to the protected resource. With the workspace 410 deployed and in use, at 450 of FIG. 4 and at 530 of FIG. 5 , the workspace 410 registers a request for use of available IHS resources with the workspace orchestration service 420. As described with regard to FIG. 3B, each workspace 331A-N that is configured and deployed according to embodiments may include a local resource service 335A-N that is configured to provide a respective workspace with access to local resources of the IHS that are otherwise unavailable due to the isolation of the workspace from all or part of the hardware and software of the IHS. As described, a workspace may provide access to a protected resource within a virtualized logical environment that relies on abstractions from the underlying hardware and the operating system of an IHS, thus isolating the workspace from these local resources of the IHS.

Upon receipt of a registration request from workspace 405, at 455, the workspace orchestration service 420 responds by providing workspace 405 with a list of the available resources of the IHS that are available for use by workspaces, as specified, at 425, by the remote access controller 410. As indicated in FIG. 5 , at 535, the workspace orchestration service 420 may validate the registration request received from workspace 405. In some embodiments, the workspace 405 may include a unique identifier in its registration request transmitted to the workspace orchestration service 420. In such instances, this unique identifier presented by the workspace 405 is an identifier that was included in the workspace definition that was generated by the workspace orchestration service 420 and used to deploy the workspace 405. By presenting this unique identifier in its registration request, the workspace orchestration service 420 may validate that the request originates from an authentic workspace that is operating using a workspace definition generated by the workspace orchestration service 420. Once the workspace 405 has been validated, at 540 and at 455, the workspace orchestration service 420 provides the workspace 405 with an authorization token for use in authenticating the workspace 405 and its use of IHS resources made available via the remote access controller 410. In some embodiments, the token provided to the workspace 405 may be calculated by the orchestration service 420 based on the unique identifier of the workspace, thus binding the token for use by that particular workspace such that any attempts to utilize the token by other workspaces are detectable.

As indicated at 455 of FIG. 4 and at 545 of FIG. 5 , the workspace orchestration service 420 also provides the workspace 405 with the list of IHS resources that have been made available by the remote access controller 410 for use by workspaces. At 550, the workspace 405 may evaluate the list of available IHS resources against its workspace definition in order to determine the available IHS resources that are compatible with the operating constraints specified by the workspace definition. For instance, a required minimum security score associated with a workspace definition may prohibit the use of certain IHS resources. At 460, the workspace 405 selects from the list of available IHS resources based on compatibility with the workspace definition in order to gain access to IHS capabilities that are not otherwise available to workspace 405. At 465 of FIG. 4 and at 555 of FIG. 5 , the workspace 405 notifies the workspace orchestration service 420 of its selection from the list of IHS resources that has been made available by the remote access controller 420 of the IHS.

In response to the selection of an IHS resource by workspace 405, at 560 and as indicated at 470, the workspace orchestration service 420 provides the remote access controller 410 with a handle to the requested IHS resource, where this handle specifies the IHS resource to be provided, a mechanism for invoking the IHS resource and any constraints that may limit the duration of the workspaces' use of the IHS resource. At 565 and as indicated at 475, this same handle may be provided by the workspace orchestration service 420 to the workspace 405 that has requested access to the local IHS resource. In some embodiments, the handle provided by the workspace orchestration service 420 may specify various aspects of the local IHS resource that is being made available to the workspace 405 by the remote access controller 410. In addition to identifying the resource, the handle may also specify an API (Application Programming Interface) that is to be supported by the remote access controller 410 for use by the workspace 405 in invoking the IHS resource. The API included in the handle may specifies as a list of methods that are supported by the remote access controller 410, where the specified methods may be identified by a signature that specifies method arguments that must be supplied by the workspace 405 and responses that will be provided by the remote access controller 410. For instance, if the local resource that is selected is use of ACPI power management functions, the API specified in the handle may list a set of method signatures that are supported by the remote access controller 410 in providing ACPI functionality to workspace 405.

In providing a means by which the API included in the handle may be invoked, the handle may also include a reference to an IPC (Inter-Process Communications) resource of the IHS that is to be used in the API communications between the remote access controller 410 and the workspace 405. For instance, the handle may include a pointer to a memory location or data buffer that is to be used in the transmission of data between the remote access controller 410 and the workspace 405. In other instances, the handle may include a reference identifying a socket or pipe by which data may be transmitted by a workspace 405 to the remote access controller 410 and by which responsive data resulting from execution of an API call may be provided to the workspace 405 by the remote access controller 410.

In addition to specifying the API that is supported and a reference to an IPC resource of the IHS, the handle provided by the workspace orchestration service 420 may also include a token that may be used to specify constraints on the duration of the validity of the handle. In some embodiments, the token included in a handle may be generated based on the token provided to the remote access controller 410, which may be based on a unique identifier of the IHS, and may also be generated based on the token provided to the workspace 405, which may be based on a unique identifier of the workspace. In this manner, the token included in the handle may be bound to the IHS and to the workspace 405 such that use of the handle on another IHS or by another workspace is detectable.

In some instances, a token specified in a handle may be valid for the duration of the lifespan of the workspace 405. Accordingly, in such instances, no limitations or conditions on the token are specified in the handle. However, in other instances, the validity of a token may be limited according to various conditions specified in the handle. In such instances, the token included in the handle is thus a session token with a limited term of validity. For example, conditions set forth in the handle may specify that the session token is only valid until a certain time. As described with regard to FIG. 1 , an IHS according to embodiments may include sensors capable of determining whether a user is in proximity to the IHS. In some instances, conditions set forth in the handle may specify that a session token becomes invalid upon detecting that the user of the IHS can no longer be detected in proximity to the IHS. In another example where the IHS is a laptop computer, the conditions set forth in the handle may specify that the session token is only valid until the lid of the laptop is closed. In another example, the conditions set forth in the handle may specify that the session token becomes invalid if the IHS is moved to a different location, or is moved outside of a specific location.

As described above, a workspace definition may be associated with a security score that is measured based on the security context in which the workspace is deployed. In some embodiments, a session token specified in a handle may be limited based on conditions requiring a minimum security score in order for the token to remain valid. In such embodiments, the workspace management agent 415 may monitor for changes in the security context of the workspace 405. Examples of detected changes in the security context may include a change in the antivirus software in use by the IHS, a change in the network access point used by the IHS, a change in the location of the IHS from a corporate environment to a public location, and/or a change of the individual that is using the IHS. Upon detecting such changes in the security context, a new security score may be calculated for the workspace. If the security score drops below a certain threshold, a session token included in a handle may become invalid.

With the remote access controller 410 and the workspace 405 both provided with the handle generated by the workspace orchestration service 420, the workspace 405 may commence use of the selected IHS resource by using the handle to issue commands to the selected IHS resource. Using the provided handle, at 570, the workspace 405 generates a command that invokes the selected resource of the IHS by generating an API call that is specified in the handle. In some embodiments, these API calls may be generated by a local resource service 335A-N, as described with regard to FIG. 3B, of the workspace 405 that may be configured to managed operations for requesting and managing use of a local resource on behalf of the workspace 405. At 575 and as indicated at 480 of FIG. 4 , the workspace 405 transmits the API call to the remote access controller 410 using the IPC resource that is included in the handle for communications between the remote access controller 410 and the workspace 405. At 580, the API call issued via the IPC resource specified in the handle is received by the remote access controller 410. As described with regard to FIG. 3B, remote access controller 410 may include a secure communication support module 350 that is configured to manage communications with workspaces. In particular, this secure communication support module may manage communications with individual workspaces via an IPC resource specified in a handle provided by the workspace orchestration service for communications with that particular workspace.

Upon receipt of an API call from a workspace via the IPC resource, the remote access controller 410 processes the API call on behalf of the workspace. For instance, if a handle provides a workspace 405 with access to ACPI resources of an IHS, an API call received according to that handle is processed by the remote access controller 410 by invoking the corresponding ACPI method of the IHS that may be supported by the BIOS of the IHS, or by the remote access controller 410 itself. In another example, if the API call is received via an IPC resource corresponding to a handle that provides workspace 405 with use of thread management functions supported by an IHS, the data received by the remote access controller 410 via the IPC resource is used to perform thread management functions on behalf of the workspace. Once the operation invoked on behalf of the workspace 405 has been completed, at 585 and as indicated at 485 of FIG. 4 , the remote access controller 410 utilizes the IPC resource provided in the handle to provide the workspace 405 with a responsive communication specified by the API call made by the workspace. For instance, if an ACPI method requesting the current power state of the IHS has been invoked by the API call received from the workspace 405, the response by the remote access controller 410 relays the current power state back to the workspace via the IPC resource specified in the handle.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a cache database 362 and an associated cache database management interface 364 may be provided for storing information used by the workspaces 331A-N. The cache database 362 may be used to store files or digital content common to some, most, or all of the workspaces 331A-N. For example, the cache database 362 may be used to store executable files, such as dynamic linked library (DLL) files, application files, or other files including executable code that may be shared among certain workspaces 331A-N. As another example, the cache database 362 may be used to store audio and/or video content that is generated by a first workspace and consumed by a second workspace seamlessly.

Cache database management interface 364 provides an interface for secure communication with the workspace orchestration service 206, and may include logic for implementing certain features of the cache database 362. In one embodiment, cache database management interface 364 may implement a cloud caching system where commonly accessed cloud sourced files may be cached to alleviate communication traffic that would otherwise be required each time a workspace 331A-N requires access to content from a cloud-based source. In another embodiment, cache database management interface 364 may implement a user context discovery system for providing contextual continuity for custom workspaces instantiated on different environments based on each user's personal profile. Methods for providing the cloud caching system and user context discovery system will each be described in detail herein below. In one embodiment, cache database 362 and cache database management interface 364 may be configured inside of a workspace 331A-N so that it can be securely managed by workspace orchestration service 206.

According to one embodiment, a network tunneling service 366 may be provided to enable secure communications between the workspaces 331A-N and workspace orchestration service 206. The network tunneling service 366 may configure secure network communication links between certain services of the workspace orchestration service 206 and the workspaces 331A-N. In one embodiment, the network tunneling service 366 may, upon instantiation of a workspace 331A-N, communicate with its associated local resource service 355A to establish a secure communications tunnel, such as an HTTPS connection, a virtual private network (VPN) connection, or one established according to a suitable communications protocol (e.g., a secure shell (SSH) tunneling protocol, a generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunneling protocol, an IPSec tunneling protocol, etc.).

According to one embodiment, a BIOS interface agent 368 may be provided in BIOS 135 of IHS 100. In general, BIOS interface agent 368 provides a direct interface for communication between the BIOS 135 along with any associated embedded controllers, and the workspace orchestration service 206. In many currently produced IHSs, the BIOS often includes a SMBIOS interface that can be used to read management information produced by the BIOS 135 of an IHS 100. This feature can eliminate the need for the operating system to probe hardware directly to discover what devices are present in the computer. As such, the BIOS interface agent 368 provide a technique to access characteristics of hardware devices configured in the IHS 100 as well as to manipulate or otherwise modify those hardware resources. In one embodiment, a secure network connection may be established between the BIOS interface agent 368 and workspace orchestration service 206 using the network tunneling service 366.

FIG. 6 is a workflow diagram describing certain steps of one embodiment of a cloud caching method 600 using the cache database 362 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As will be described in detail herein below, the cloud caching method 600 may be provided for improving and optimizing the resource usage of workspace applications by content caching among multiple, participating containers. Using the cloud caching method 600, the performance of the workspace applications can be effectively optimized without any substantial modifications to the workspace applications and/or the resources used to execute the containerized applications.

In conventional client environments that do not necessarily involve workspaces, different applications can use the same set of files seamlessly. In some cases, if the files are stored in the cloud (e.g., network), those files are often retrieved and cached by the OS and used commonly by different applications. For example, a video-editor application and a video-player application configured outside of a workspace often use the same local file or the same cached file from a file hosting and synchronization service (e.g., Microsoft OneDrive). If these same applications, however, are configured in separate workspace environments, each workspace will need to retrieve and cache these files from the cloud. That is, the video-editor in one workspace and the video player in another workspace will both cache and synchronize the video file. This situation leads to obvious inefficiencies, such as increased network traffic, increased resource (e.g., CPU, storage, etc.) usage; a problem that does not exist with conventional environments not implemented with workspaces. Additionally, certain executable files, such as runtime components or libraries, and the like, used with each workspace application needs to be handled inside of each workspace, thus yielding a cumbersome affair.

Many scenarios exist where inefficiencies can occur due to the inability to share cloud resources between containers. One example scenario involves a user who is editing a report within a workspace in which the application used periodically requires specific systems files to operate. From a separate workspace, a service provides routine maintenance, and updating system files needed by the first application. In such a scenario, the edited report is not able to access the newly updated system files because each of the workspaces are isolated from one another.

Another example scenario involves the user who is editing video content in a first workspace, which is periodically accessing or storing video content from a remote location, while a separate local system connected to a larger screen is being used for video playback. The local system is running the playback software in a workspace. The user wishes to perform real-time editing on one device and seamless playback on the second device but cannot because the video content cannot be stored in a common location where it can be accessed by both workspaces. Yet another example scenario involves multiple users who are working remotely using instances of the same CAD tool running in separate workspaces. At various intervals, the CAD workspace instances request access to the same design files from a remote shared location. But this would be difficult to provide since no shared location exists between each of the separate workspaces.

Thus, it can be clearly seen that, while workspaces may provide relatively good isolation from other workspaces in an IHS environment, the isolation may yield certain unintended consequences when needed files cannot be shared among each of the workspaces. Embodiments of the present disclosure, and in particular the cloud caching method 600 of FIG. 6 may provide a solution to these problems, among others, in which commonly used cloud assets may be shared among multiple workspaces in an IHS.

Referring again to FIG. 6 , the cloud caching method 600 involves tunneling service 366, a workspace 331 configured with a local resource service 355 and an application 601, a cache database management interface 364, and a cache database 362. Only one workspace 331 is shown and described herein for purposes of brevity and clarity of discussion; nevertheless, it should be appreciated that the cloud caching method 600 may be performed with any quantity and configuration of workspaces 331. Additionally, while the workspace 331 is shown configured with a single application 601, it should be appreciated that the workspace 331 may have any quantities of applications 602 that use the cloud caching method 600 to access and use locally cached cloud-based files according to the teachings of the present disclosure.

Additionally, while the cache database management interface 364, and cache database 362 are shown configured external to any workspace, in other embodiments, the cache database management interface 364, and cache database 362 may be configured inside of a dedicated workspace 331 that communicates with the local resource service 355 and application 601 via the tunneling service 366.

Steps 602-610 generally describe an initialization sequence that may be performed each time the IHS 100 is initialized (e.g., bootstrapped), and before any cloud-based caching occurs. Initially at step 602, the cache database management interface 364 is launched (e.g., started). When launched, the cache database management interface 364 may load certain rules or policies as to how cloud-based files may be cached. At some point in time after the cache database management interface 364 is launched, the workspace 331 is instantiated on the IHS 100 at step 604 along with its associated local resource service 355 and application 601. Shortly thereafter, the local resource service 355 transmits a request to the application 601 to obtain application information, such as its configuration settings and other system files (e.g., DLL files, etc.) used for its execution. Thereafter at step 606, the application 601 responds with the requested information. At step 608, the local resource service 355 transmits the obtained application information to the cache database management interface 364. The cache database management interface 364 uses the obtained application information, and the loaded rules and policies to generate additional policies regarding how cloud-based files are to be cached. Additionally, at step 610, the local resource service 355 configures certain intercept or trap points (e.g., system calls) for intercepting requests from the application 601 to access cloud-based files from the cloud source 604 based upon the received application information. At this point, the cloud caching method 600 has been initialized and is ready to begin caching cloud-based files for use by any participating workspaces instantiated on the IHS 100.

Steps 612-628 generally describe a sequence of actions that are performed for each request for a cloud-based file by the application 601. At step 612, the application 601 issues a request for a certain cloud-based file, which is forwarded, by the local resource service 355, to the cache database management interface 364 at step 614. The cache database management interface 364 issues a request for the cloud-based file stored locally in the cache database 362 if it exists at step 616, and receives the requested file at step 618. If the cloud-based file, however, is not persistent in the cache database 362, it issues a request for the file from the cloud source 604 (e.g., Internet) at step 620, and receives the requested file at step 622.

At step 624, if the cloud-based file has been obtained from the cloud source 604, it may be stored persistently in cache database 362 according to one or more rules or policies determined earlier at step 610. For example, if the cloud-based file does not currently exist in cache database 362, and the cache database 362 does not have sufficient capacity to store the cloud-based file, the cache database management interface 364 may delete certain other persistently stored cloud-based files to make room for the requested cloud-based file based upon the rules or policies. If the cloud-based file is eventually stored in the cache database 362, it is considered to be a ‘cache hit’ condition. Otherwise, if the cloud-based file is not eventually stored in the cache database 362, it is considered to be a ‘cache miss’ condition.

Furthermore, if the requested cloud-based file results in a cache hit condition, certain create, read, update, delete (CRUD) operations may be performed on the cloud-based file persisted in cache database 362. If, however, the requested cloud-based file results in a cache miss condition, the resulting CRUD operations may be relayed to the cloud source 604. For example, the requested cloud-based file may incur a cache miss condition when the requested cloud-based file is an obsolete (e.g., deprecated) version, and as such, the cloud source 604 may be notified so that an updated version of the cloud-based file may be made available for access in the future.

At step 626, the cache database management interface 364 forwards the requested cloud-based file or a link to the requested file to the local resource service 355 along with information associated with whether it incurred a cache hit or a cache miss condition. The local resource service 355, in turn, forwards the requested cloud-based file or link to the requested file to the application 601 at step 628.

Steps 630-634 generally describe a sequence of actions that may be performed each time a cloud-based file is deleted from the cache database 362. For example, steps 630-634 may be performed during step 624 when a certain cloud-based file is to be deleted to make room for another requested cloud-based file.

At step 630, the cache database management interface 364 issues a pre-delete notify request message to the local resource service 355. Essentially, the pre-delete notify request message is generated by the cache database management interface 364 to obtain permission, from the local resource service 355, for deleting the cloud-based file from the cache database 362. Certain conditions exist whereby deletion of a cloud-based file from the cache database 362 would not be beneficial. For example, if the application 601 is still using the cloud-based file (e.g., active file reference), deletion of the cloud-based file would not be warranted.

Nevertheless at step 632, the local resource service 355 responds to the pre-delete notify request message with either a pass response (e.g., no active file reference exists), or a failure response (e.g., an active file reference does exist). Thereafter at step 634, the cache database management interface 364 either deletes the cloud-based file from cache database 362 if a pass response is received, and does not delete the cloud-based file from cache database 362 if a failure response is received.

The cloud caching method 600 described above may be repeatedly performed for each workspace 331 having an application 601 that obtains cloud-based content from a cloud source 604. Nevertheless, when use of the cloud caching method 600 is no longer needed or desired, the process ends.

Although FIG. 6 describes an example method that may be performed for selectively caching cloud-based content for each of multiple workspaces 331 configured on an IHS 100, the features of the method 600 may be embodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method 600 may perform additional, fewer, or different operations than those described in the present examples. As another example, the steps of the method 600 may be performed by a computing system other than the IHS 100, such as via a cloud service as described above.

FIG. 7 is a workflow diagram describing certain steps of an example user context discovery method 700 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As will be described in detail herein below, the user context discovery method 700 may be provided for providing contextual continuity for custom workspaces instantiated on different environments based on each user's personal profile. Moreover, the cache database management interface 364 provides a repository for storing and administering the particular configuration settings of each user's custom workspace so that a consistent workspace environment may be generated for each user regardless of the underlying IHS used and/or the geographical location in which the IHS is used.

Within this disclosure, a custom workspace generally refers to a type of workspace that is configured according to a particular user, or a selected group of users. For example, a custom workspace may be configured with certain applications that are in turn each configured with certain settings to suit a particular user's IHS usage habits. The custom workspace may also be configured for a certain group of individuals, such as those of an accounting department of a particular enterprise who may use certain applications dedicated for use by its members.

In connected workspace scenarios (e.g., multi-tenant offices) and other modern client use cases, a better user experience can often be tied to easing time required to replicate a workspace's context (e.g., the configuration and settings of a user's workspace environment). As such, it would be beneficial for modern clients to bring work continuity across different IHS devices as well as its geographical location with the help of workspaces. For example, when a user logs into an IHS, based on the user's profile, that user's (containerized) business applications should be accessed from a suitable repository and loaded. For better user experience and security, the host OS should discover and manage the resources appropriately based on requirements set by the user's particular applications.

For example, in a multi-tenant office (e.g., Connected Workplace 2.0), an end user, such as a program manager, logs into a remote IHS at a temporary, remote location. In such a case, it would be beneficial that some, most, or all of the end user's applications (e.g., MPP, Acrobat, word processor, etc.) are loaded with that end user's environmental settings. Additionally, to enhance the user experience, the workspace should ideally discover resources (e.g., printers, WiFi hotspots, the user's personal devices, such as a human interface device, a headset, a webcam, a mouse, a keyboard, a graphics tablet, an image scanner, a barcode reader, a stylus, a camera, a webcam, a game pad, a memory unit, a monitor, a projector, a printer, a microphone, headphones, and a loudspeaker etc.) proximate to the IHS and configure the workspace accordingly. For example, a user's Bluetooth headset should be discovered and paired with the workspace. For another example, a docking station, a display, and/or other connected peripherals should be automatically configured for use with the workspace. For security purposes, unused communication devices (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, near filed communications (NFC), presence detection devices, cellular communication devices, etc.) should be disabled. The system should also discover proximate assets, such as a close network printer to auto-populate into a printers list, which is then automatically set up for use with the workspace.

Conventionally, when a user initially uses an IHS for the first time, the afore-described tasks often require manual intervention, thus yielding a less attractive user experience. It may be important to note that the example scenario described above may represent a continually growing set of use cases that include gig workers, who may change systems more frequently on an on-going basis, and remote workers (e.g., individuals working from home who may require user of an IHS on-premises for temporary, secondary, or emergency use. Lowering the trouble for such users has therefore become a strategic goal for the inventors of this case. Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a solution to these problems, among others, by providing contextual continuity for workspaces instantiated on different IHS environments based on each user's personal profile.

Referring again to FIG. 7 , the user context discovery method 700 involves a cache database management interface 364, a local resource service 355, and a BIOS interface agent 368. The cache database management interface 364 may include at least part of or be integral to the cache database 362 as described above with reference to FIG. 3 . For example, the cache database management interface 364 may include a caching service agent that communicates with the local resource service 355 and BIOS interface agent 368 to perform the various features described herein. Additionally, the cache database management interface 364 may also include a cache database for storing information (e.g., global user ID, rules, policies, configuration settings of applications, etc.) with regard to how workspaces are allocated for use by each participating user of the IHS 100.

Initially at step 720, the cache database management interface 364 receives user input for instantiating a custom workspace on the IHS 100. For example, the cache database management interface 364 may receive a global user ID of that particular user that is associated with an account previously established by the cache database management interface 364 or other suitable services on the IHS 100. In one embodiment, the account information may be stored locally in the cache database of the cache database management interface 364. In other embodiments, the account information may be stored within the workspace 331 and accessed when that workspace 331 is instantiated by the IHS 100.

At step 722, the cache database management interface 364 transmits a request to the local resource service 355 to obtain context information about the custom workspace from the local resource service 355. The local resource service 355 in turn, sends a response to the cache database management interface 364 that includes the requested information at step 724. At step 726, the cache database management interface 364 transmits a request to the BIOS interface agent 368 to obtain a global machine ID of the IHS 100 on which the custom workspace is to be instantiated. The BIOS interface agent 368 in turn, sends a response to the cache database management interface 364 that includes the requested information at step 728. For example, the cache database of the cache database management interface 364 may store configuration information for the IHS 100 that has been previously obtained from the BIOS interface agent 368 at an earlier point in time so that it may be accessed based upon the global machine ID. The configuration information may include any information about the IHS 100, such as type of processor, quantity of processor cores, memory size, memory type, peripheral information, and the like.

At step 730, the cache database management interface 364 computes one or more rules or policies for the custom workspace based on the received global user ID and the global machine ID. For example, the cache database management interface 364 may determine, using information stored in the cache database of the cache database management interface 364, that the user is limited to using certain resources of the IHS 100, and is inhibited from using certain other resources. As another example, the cache database management interface 364 may determine that the user has a Bluetooth headset and thus the cache database management interface 364 may obtain passcode information stored in the cache database needed for pairing the Bluetooth headset with the custom workspace. As yet another example, the cache database management interface 364 may determine that a CAD application included in the custom workspace is to be configured with those drivers used to handle certain types of CAD files that are to be manipulated by the user. As yet another example, the cache database management interface 364 may determine that the user will require a local printer having certain capabilities (e.g., color/black-and-white, minimum DPI, sheet size, etc.), and develop rules and policies for the custom workspace such that a suitable local printer may be identified and configured for use with the custom workspace.

At step 732, the cache database management interface 364 derives specific resource configuration directives based upon the rules and policies computed at step 730. For example, if one policy is directed to turning off certain communication ports, the cache database management interface 364 may generate one or more directives for turning those communication ports off. As another example, if a certain rule or policy is associated with a Bluetooth connection, the cache database management interface 364 may generate one or more directives for the Bluetooth port of the IHS 100 to establish a paired Bluetooth connection. Thereafter at step 734, the cache database management interface 364 applies the directives to the custom workspace. Also at step 736, the cache database management interface 364 shares (e.g., transmits) those directives that may be associated with certain hardware resources (e.g., communication ports, docking station, display device(s), peripherals, etc.), which are managed by EC/BIOS to the BIOS interface agent 368. For example, if one directive is to turn a certain communication port off, the cache database management interface 364 may transmit a message to the BIOS interface agent 368 instructing the EC/BIOS to have that communication port disabled. Then at step 738, the BIOS implements the directives received from the cache database management interface 364.

At this point, the custom workspace has been instantiated, and customized according to the user's account information. In one embodiment, the cache database management interface 364 may generate free-form information that is presented to the user via, for example, a display of the IHS 100 indicating how the custom workspace was instantiated. For example, the free-form information may include information about certain features that were not able to be implemented on the custom workspace, such as allocating four processor cores to the custom workspace where the underlying IHS 100 only has two processor cores available for use. For another example, the free-form information may include a map indicating where a configured printer is located at, and certain limitations to its use (e.g., maximum 50 sheets/day, letter sized paper only, etc.) that should be followed by the user.

During usage of the custom workspace by the user, the configuration of the custom workspace may change for various reasons. For example, the custom workspace may change if applications are added, modified, or deleted, certain system parameters (e.g., go to sleep times, AC power/DC power, etc.) are changed, user preferences (e.g., background image, web browser configuration, speaker volume, etc.) change, and so on. As such, the cache database management interface 364 may detect these changes at step 740, and update the rules and policies of the user account at step 742 such that those changes will be implemented in future instantiations of the custom workspace.

The user context discovery method 700 described above may be performed each time the custom workspace 331 is instantiated on an IHS 100. Nevertheless, when use of the user context discovery method 700 is no longer needed or desired, the process ends.

Although FIG. 7 describes an example method that may be performed for generating custom workspaces based upon a user and a computing environment provided by an IHS that supports the custom workspace, the features of the user context discovery method 700 may be embodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, the method 700 may perform additional, fewer, or different operations than those described in the present examples. As another example, the steps of the method 700 may be performed by a computing system other than the IHS 102, such as via a cloud service as described above.

It should be understood that various operations described herein may be implemented in software executed by processing circuitry, hardware, or a combination thereof. The order in which each operation of a given method is performed may be changed, and various operations may be added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified, etc. It is intended that the invention(s) described herein embrace all such modifications and changes and, accordingly, the above description should be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The terms “tangible” and “non-transitory,” as used herein, are intended to describe a computer-readable storage medium (or “memory”) excluding propagating electromagnetic signals; but are not intended to otherwise limit the type of physical computer-readable storage device that is encompassed by the phrase computer-readable medium or memory. For instance, the terms “non-transitory computer readable medium” or “tangible memory” are intended to encompass types of storage devices that do not necessarily store information permanently, including, for example, RAM. Program instructions and data stored on a tangible computer-accessible storage medium in non-transitory form may afterwards be transmitted by transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, which may be conveyed via a communication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link.

Although the invention(s) is/are described herein with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention(s), as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention(s). Any benefits, advantages, or solutions to problems that are described herein with regard to specific embodiments are not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims.

Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements. The terms “coupled” or “operably coupled” are defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless stated otherwise. The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a system, device, or apparatus that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those one or more elements but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements. Similarly, a method or process that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more operations possesses those one or more operations but is not limited to possessing only those one or more operations. 

1. A workspace orchestration system comprising: an Information Handling System (IHS) comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to: upon a request to instantiate a workspace on the IHS, receive a user identity of a user of the workspace; obtain, from a database, one or more policies associated with the user, the policies identifying one or more applications to be implemented in the workspace, application settings to be applied to each of the applications, or workspace settings to be applied to the workspace; and instantiate the workspace using the obtained policies.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to: receive a machine identity of the IHS; and determine the one or more policies according to the machine identify of the IHS.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to: discover a peripheral device nearby to the IHS according to the one or more policies; and configure the peripheral device for operation with the custom workspace.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the peripheral device comprises at least one of a printer, a human interface device, a headset, a webcam, a mouse, a keyboard, a graphics tablet, an image scanner, a barcode reader, a stylus, a camera, a webcam, a game pad, a memory unit, a monitor, a projector, a printer, a microphone, headphones, and a loudspeaker, and a personal Bluetooth device.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to: discover one or more unused communication devices configured on the custom workspace according to the policies; and disable the unused communication devices.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to: discover a change to the custom workspace during operation of the custom workspace; and update the policies in the database.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to receive the user identity of the user from an account previously established for the user.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to: identify a Bluetooth headset associated with the user from the policies; and discover and pair the Bluetooth headset according to the policies.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to: discover one or more printers that are nearby to the IHS; and set up the one or more printers for use with the workspace.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to: following instantiation of the workspace, generate free-form information indicating how the workspace was instantiated; and present, via a display, the free-form information to the user.
 11. A workspace orchestration method comprising: upon a request to instantiate a workspace on the IHS, receiving a user identity of a user of the workspace; obtaining, from a database, one or more policies associated with the user, the policies identifying one or more applications to be implemented in the workspace, application settings to be applied to each of the applications, or workspace settings to be applied to the workspace; and instantiating the workspace using the obtained policies.
 12. The workspace orchestration method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving a machine identity of the IHS; and determining the one or more policies according to the machine identify of the IHS.
 13. The workspace orchestration method of claim 11, further comprising: discovering a peripheral device nearby to the IHS according to the one or more policies; and configuring the peripheral device for operation with the custom workspace.
 14. The workspace orchestration method of claim 11, further comprising: discovering one or more unused communication devices configured on the custom workspace according to the policies; and disabling the unused communication devices.
 15. The workspace orchestration method of claim 11, further comprising: discovering a change to the custom workspace during operation of the custom workspace; and updating the policies in the database.
 16. The workspace orchestration method of claim 11, further comprising wherein the program instructions, upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the first IHS to receive the user identity of the user from an account previously established for the user.
 17. The workspace orchestration method of claim 11, further comprising: identifying a Bluetooth headset associated with the user from the policies; and discovering and pair the Bluetooth headset according to the policies.
 18. The workspace orchestration method of claim 11, further comprising: discovering one or more printers that are nearby to the IHS; and setting up the one or more printers for use with the workspace.
 19. The workspace orchestration method of claim 11, further comprising: following instantiation of the workspace, generating free-form information indicating how the workspace was instantiated; and presenting, via a display, the free-form information to the user.
 20. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by an Information Handling System (IHS), cause the IHS to: upon a request to instantiate a workspace on the IHS, receive a user identity of a user of the workspace; obtain, from a database, one or more policies associated with the user, the policies identifying one or more applications to be implemented in the workspace, application settings to be applied to each of the applications, or workspace settings to be applied to the workspace; and instantiate the workspace using the obtained policies. 